OVERVIEW

The course is divided into lectures and practical exercises carried out in the classroom and is aimed at studying the main unit operations, the related chemical and process plants and their management. Basic notions relating to sizing, selection and evaluation are provided of the equipment/plants on the basis of economic factors and the regulatory and environmental constraints characterizing the modern industrial structure.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide participants with the ability to analyze process diagrams, and to know how to determine the specifications of individual equipment Furthermore, the course aims to provide students with the basic notions of some unit operations, with the aim of providing the knowledge necessary to determine and quantify the most important parameters in the preliminary design of the equipment.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Attendance and active participation in the proposed training activities (lectures, exercises and numerical exercises) and individual study will allow the student to acquire:

- knowledge of process plants and of some unit operations: evaporation, distillation, crystallization, filtration. Understanding of simplified models that relate operational and / or project parameters with their effects on material and energy balances.

- the ability to analyze process diagrams and to be able to correctly orientate the determination of the specifications of the individual equipment and in the most common choices of operation in relation to the effect of a variation of the operating parameters on the performance of the process.

- the ability to know how to determine and quantify the most important parameters in the preliminary design of the equipment corresponding to the main unit operations, and to use appropriate preliminary design methodologies.

- the ability to use bibliographic data and databases to retrieve chemical-physical data and construction standards.

- the ability to know how to identify the most suitable equipment to carry out a specific unit operation, and to determine the operating conditions suitable for obtaining the desired process specifications.

- the ability to apply the acquired knowledge to contexts different from those presented during the course, and to orientate oneself in the reading and understanding of the technical documentation of the equipment present in the process plants.

PREREQUISITES

• Mathematical analysis I
• Fundamental of physics

TEACHING METHODS

The course provides about 60% of methodological and theoretical lessons in the classroom, about 40% of calculating exercises in the classroom.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Unit operations as the basic unit of transformation processes: variables, constraints, residual degrees of freedom, project and operating variables:

The main unit operations:

-CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION 

Detailed description of continuous distillation in the binary case. Design of the distillation column using the graphic short-cut method.

-EVAPORATION AND EVAPORATORS WITH SINGLE AND MULTIPLE EFFECT 

The principles of evaporation as a unitary operation. Types of evaporators and auxiliary equipments. Sizing of single and multiple effect evaporators.

-CRISTALLIZATION 

Description of crystallization. Crystallization induced by pressure, temperature. Nucleation and growth. Crystallization models. Homogeneous and heterogeneous descriptive models. Population balance of the crystals. Sizing of a crystallizer. Critical evaluation and limits of the project.

-FILTRATION 

Description of the filtration separation technique. Mechanism that regulates the flow of fluids through porous beds. The filter medium and the different types of industrial filtration.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. PERRY'S CHEMICAL ENGINEERS' HANDBOOK - MC GRAW-HILL INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS

2. FOUST ET AL. I PRINCIPI DELLE OPERAZIONI UNITARIE - ED. AMBROSIANA, MILANO

3. MC CABE, SMITH AND HARRIOT: UNIT OPERATIONS OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, MC GRAW - HILL CHEM. ENG. SERIES

4. COULSON AND RICHARDSON'S: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME II, PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY AND

SEPARATION PROCESSES, BUTTERWORTH-HEINEMANN

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTA CAMPARDELLI (President)

EMANUELA DRAGO

CARLO SOLISIO (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/corsi/10375/studenti-orario

Class schedule

L'orario di tutti gli insegnamenti è consultabile all'indirizzo EasyAcademy.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The achievement of the teaching aims is certified by a written test lasting 240 minutes, consisting of the resolution of two exercises on two different unit operations with 3 questions per unit operation of the value of 5 points per question. These points are assigned in full if the question is answered correctly in the numerical value, at 80% if there is a calculation error, from 10% to 70% if the answer is well set but suffers from more or less serious conceptual errors (zero if the answer is not answered or is approached in a wrong way). The achievement of sufficiency (18/30) allows access to the oral exam.

An oral interview is scheduled of about 30 minutes to verify the general knowledge of the design elements and any uncertainties related to the written test. The outcome of the oral exam cannot replace the positive result of the written test.

Excellence (30/30 cum laude) is achieved through the correct answer to all the questions of the two proposed exercises and to the contemporary positive result of the oral exam, which demonstrates how the student is able to manage the subject using the concepts learned and applying them to different types of problems compared to those discussed in the classroom.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of depth of each topic will be given during the lessons. The written test focuses on 2 exercises with three questions each, concerning the topics presented during the course. The oral exam includes questions concerning the basic theory and the criteria for sizing unit operations. The quality of the exposure, the correct use of technical terminology and the critical reasoning ability will also be assessed.

The evaluation of the achievement of the objectives is verified through a written and oral examination. The evaluation in the final exam will take into account the following criteria:

a) knowledge and ability to solve the main problems that require the application of concepts expressed;

b) knowledge of the basic hypotheses;

c) ability to extend the application of the basic concepts to solve problems to new applications,

d) language properties with particular reference to the specific terminology of the discipline.

The exam will be considered sufficient when the student is able to set up the design of the unit operation, using the physical and chemical-physical variables involved properly even if not readily, and when he demonstrates sufficient knowledge of the lexicon of the subject. The student who projects correctly, who has full and prompt perception of the effects of the variables on the project and who shows mastery of the vocabulary of the subject is evaluated as excellent.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Working students and students with DSA disability or other special educational needs certification are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and exam methods which, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual ways of learning.